Illinois running back Rashard Mendenhall waits for the NFL draft

It was just one of several trips to meet with teams that Rashard Mendenhall has made in preparation for Saturday's NFL draft.

He didn't have to pass through O'Hare to visit Halas Hall, and he knows the chances are slim that he'll wind up a Bear. Still ...

"I think it went real well, honestly, just being there, it felt like home," he said. "It isn't home, but it felt like that. I have all the respect in the world for coach Lovie Smith. One of the best guys I've ever met, real honest guy, a spiritual guy."

While the Bears could use Mendenhall, they're unlikely to spend a first-round pick on a running back, and Mendenhall won't be around in the second round. So it's unlikely that the former Niles West and Illinois standout will continue to wear orange and blue, colors the Bears and Illini share. The football fates are likely to send him elsewhere, and he's ready to embrace change.

"Definitely, I'm looking forward to being on my own," he said.

Mendenhall was a prize recruit for Illinois coach Ron Turner, now the Bears' offensive coordinator, three years ago. Still, his rise from sophomore backup to junior Big Ten MVP was meteoric, sparking the Illini to a 9-4 season and a trip to the Rose Bowl.

His junior season of 1,681 rushing yards and a total of 19 touchdowns prompted him to leave school a year early but left scouts with plenty of questions. He has only done it for one year, so is he for real? Is he tough enough to take on NFL linebackers? Is he ready to help in the passing game?

He answered some of those questions in the Rose Bowl, rushing for 155 yards -- including a 79-yard touchdown run -- and turning a short pass into a 55-yard gain. And he answered many others at the NFL combine in February, where he ran a 4.45-second 40-yard dash. Still, there will be questions.

Mendenhall looks comfortable coming out of the backfield, a trait he says dates back to his days at Niles West, where he would sometimes line up at wide receiver. "It comes naturally," he said.

When he was a boy, his family lived in California for a time and the Raiders' Tim Brown, a receiver, was his favorite player. Now, though, he studies running backs.

"Two guys I like a lot are LaDainian Tomlinson and Thomas Jones," he said. "They both had a combination of being able to make the move and have the power, catch the ball out of the backfield, they have complete games. They're all-around backs, and the complete players stay around."

Scouts have also questioned his toughness. But Illinois running backs coach Reggie Mitchell points to Mendenhall's record of getting tough yardage.

"I tell scouts he was 14 of 16 on fourth-and-1 and third-and-1 this year, so I think he's a can't-miss guy," Mitchell said. "He'll have to adjust to the speed of the game. He's a sharp kid. The thing I've been telling scouts is he doesn't have a lot of miles on him. ... His football is ahead of him. He'll be great in the classroom, he should be a great pro."

NFL teams don't run option offenses, which Illinois does.

"I don't think it'll be too much of an adjustment," Mendenhall said. "A lot of teams see Illinois as a spread-offense [team], but we do a lot of different things. I've been behind the quarterback (in the NFL-style I-formation) a lot more than people think.

"It's something we practiced a lot, something I'm very comfortable with. We just haven't done it as much in games. I've run behind a fullback enough to where I feel good about it."

Mendenhall has scouted the NFL as it has scouted him, talking to former Illinois teammates such as Dallas cornerback Alan Ball, and especially running backs Jason Davis of the Eagles and Pierre Thomas of the Saints.

"They tell you about the 'rookie wall,' how long the season is," Mendenhall said.

As a likely first-round pick, Mendenhall knows he will be expected to be a team leader on the field, as he was at Illinois, which hadn't been to a Rose Bowl in 24 years before January. And the Illini have not had a player chosen in the first round since 1996, when Kevin Hardy (Jaguars) and Simeon Rice (Cardinals) were the No. 2 and No. 3 picks, respectively.

"We're hoping he'll be a top-15 pick because it'd be great for him and great for us," said Mitchell, who is also Illinois' recruiting coordinator. "You can tell a kid, especially a running back, 'Hey, Rashard Mendenhall played in this system for three years and now look at him.'

"We've been fortunate in the last three years here that Jason Davis and Pierre Thomas went to the NFL, and now Rashard."

Exactly where in the NFL remains to be scene. He has visited the Cowboys, Broncos, Jets and Bengals, and the Panthers went to Champaign to meet with him. That doesn't mean he'll wind up with any of those teams. The Lions pick 15th, one spot after the Bears, and need a running back.

"I have no idea where I'll go," he said. "I have as much of a chance of winding up here as anywhere else."